Nearly two years after I began taking the steps to start TICCO, the original intent of this community still rings true. We are a place that welcomes professionals from across the city building community to find work, build connections, and develop skills.
I'll be honest with you - just like it has been for many small businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for us. Over the past 6 months, we've been quietly preparing to complete our beta platform. This enhanced version of TICCO would have included a built-in jobs board, services for businesses, an events calendar, career resources, and most importantly - a free version. Due to current events, the investment funds we had hoped for to make these changes will likely not come our way or will be significantly delayed.
But I don't think you should have to wait. While we've been experiencing our own set of challenges, we've heard from professionals who are losing their jobs, have had projects postponed or cancelled, or who have lost out on valuable networking opportunities due to the effect COVID-19 has had on in-person gatherings. We started TICCO to create a place where we could support each other and develop professionally. More than ever, a digital space for this to happen is critical. While we can't make any major changes to our platform right now due to financial constraints, we can do one thing.
Effective immediately, TICCO access will be free for everyone.
We're waiving the cost to access our online platform indefinitely. Professionals at all career stages who work with cities, communities, and the built environment can now create an account and log on at no cost.
Before you do, a couple of important notes:
- Because we're making this decision suddenly, we have not changed our platform infrastructure. That means you will still need to enter a credit card to activate your account. However, that card will not be charged.
- This will apply to new, existing, and returning users.
- If you have the means to do so and would like to support the Ticco community during this time, please consider opting to pay for access regardless at the $10/mo rate. If you choose to do so, email billing@go-ticco.co so we know not to waive your dues.
We hope you'll participate.
- Sign up for your free TICCO account. Joining just takes a couple of minutes and will connect you to practitioners in more than 15 professions!
- In the coming weeks we'll be working to roll out additional webinars, blog posts, and discussions so you can have up-to-date resources and experiences. We need help to develop this content, and we'd love for you to contribute. In particular, we'd love to give you a platform to share your message if you recently had a speaking engagement, conference session, or other presentation/workshop cancelled due to COVID-19. If you feel you can lead a webinar, write a blog post, or support content development in any other way, please contact us by email at community@go-ticco.co.
- Additionally, if you work for a company that is hiring or have a work opportunity to share, please let us know by emailing classifieds@go-ticco.co! We want to share these opportunities with the Ticco network in an effort to support those who are now finding themselves looking for work or career transitioning.
I think it's safe to say that this has been a lot for all of us, and it is only just beginning. As we go forward, finding community through this experience can and will lighten the load. I'm here for you, and I look forward to connecting with you on Ticco.
Sincerely,
Katie Rispoli Keaotamai
CEO